For over a decade Mendes Gonçalves, one of Portugal’s largest sauce producers, has relied on induction sealing to meet food industry regulations. Their Paladin brand is very well known and includes mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, BBQ and salad sauces in container sizes of 75ml to 1kg. One of their packages features a conical shaped cap which provides enhanced shelf presence and consumer convenience for dispensing their Gourmet Culinary Sauces.

Carlos Prino, Industrial Projects Director at Mendes, has extensive experience with induction cap sealing as his operation has used the technology for over a decade. Their production facility in Golegã has five Enercon cap sealers, which seal 3,000 bottles per hour and 120,000 bottles a day. “An induction seal is the standard in our market and ensures we meet the required food regulations. We knew that by adding an induction seal to our products, we could maintain high quality and have an extended shelf life, which is particularly important for the products we export to places like Africa.”

Induction is a popular choice for packagers as it creates a hermetic seal which prevents leaks, provides tamper evidence, and extends shelf life. “Induction sealing is a very simple process that provides our products with added security and assurance in the form of tamper evidence,” said Mr. Prino. “If a consumer opens the product and sees that it is already open, they know not to use it. Tamper evidence is very important to us in the food industry.”

Over the years the company has found great success with Enercon cap sealers. Mr. Prino says, “Out of all the induction sealing machines we have tried, Enercon is our preferred choice. The machines are stronger, more efficient and can be easily integrated into production lines to maintain fast production speeds. We are also able to change the sealing heads very easily, which allows us to seal different sized products without losing production time.”

When the company added a special conical dispensing cap to their products they consulted with Enercon to ensure the product could be induction sealed. The container presented a challenge in that the foil liner is recessed from the top of the cap. To successfully seal this unique cap Enercon developed a special sealing head to direct the sealing energy towards the induction liner.

“When we wanted to start sealing the product we sent sample to Enercon to identify what would be the best configuration and now we are able to seal them quickly and easily. We always have good support from Enercon and their Portuguese distributor. And we know that if we have any questions, we will get all the support we need.”

Mr. Prino credits Enercon with developing a solution for them. “Enercon’s machines are the only induction sealers we can use to seal our gourmet culinary sauces because of the different style cap. It is very easy to seal with an Enercon machine.”

Successfully sealing the product ensures tamper evidence, leak prevention and freshness preservation, which allows the company to confidently sell the product both domestically and for export. The special nature of the application and its significance to expand the company’s distribution earned acknowledgement in the Induction Sealing Hall of Fame.